He noted the deep trenches that his people had dug, and beyond those the great fields of Tanglewire, Mollybush and Strangleweed that the Treesingers had grown in the hope of slowing the Stoman advance. And beyond those lay the grasslands of the Great Plains, rising in shallow rolling hills like a green sea that swept all the way to the horizon.
But of their enemy there was no sight.
‘Where are they?’ growled Kelko. He didn’t mean to snarl the question but the anxious wait was almost more than he could bear. Sic Boy groofed a bark, not dissimilar to his owner’s growl of frustration.
‘They’re coming, m’lord,’ said one of his advisors.
‘We’ve got the say-so of our scouts,’ said another.
Far from happy, Kelko adjusted the grip on his weapon. His advisors looked askance when the knuckles on his hands popped and cracked. Realizing that he had been holding the Brambleaxe tighter than was necessary, he tried to relax, but failed. He had too much on his shoulders, too many people relying on him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his mind. ‘I wonder how Charlie is doing?’ he whispered.
‘Wot was that, m’lord?’
‘Huh? Nothing,’ muttered Kelko, thoughts of his blonde-haired Keeper friend filling his head. He hoped she was safe. Hoped that perhaps she had found this mysterious Winged Ones’ Gateway and hoped that she would find a way not just to save the day, his city and his companions but to return in one piece. ‘Stay safe, blossom. Stay safe.’
‘M’lord?’
‘Wot?’ snapped Kelko.
‘Look ta the horizon.’
Raising his eyes, he noticed distant motion.
‘Bane’s armies,’ he muttered.
They were many hours away and impossible to discern as anything more than a waving line but they were coming.
Time was running out.
Nibbler appeared from the darkness with an abrupt snap of spread wings. Landing lightly, he padded over to the Keepers.
‘From what I saw there are two options. There’s a gorge to the east that you could use or a large pile of boulders to the west.’
‘Boulders,’ said Marsila.
‘Gorge,’ said Charlie.
‘If anything goes wrong there’s more room to manoeuvre behind a stack of boulders than there is down a ravine,’ reasoned Marsila.
‘But less chance of anyone seeing our Portal if we open it beneath everyone’s line of sight,’ countered Charlie.
‘The gorge sounds good,’ agreed E’Jaaz.
Marsila gritted her teeth but conceded the point in favour of the majority. Finally decided, the three of them summoned their Will, opened a Portal and, Nibbler by their side, stepped through.
The ravine was a pit of darkness and with only a narrow band of stars overhead it took long seconds for their eyes to adjust. When they felt they could see clearly enough they pulled themselves hand over hand up the craggy side of the ravine to the top. There they slowly raised their heads until they could peer over the rim to the temple beyond.
Up close they could appreciate how much larger it was in comparison with the other temples they had visited. It was a majestic building and its walls, heavy with carvings and draped with curtains of ivy, were illuminated by a multitude of torches. Spying through its windows, they could see that the inside bustled with motion; Stomen and Stonesingers continued to stride in and out of the large doors and tethered in long lines down one wall were scores of Rhinospiders.
‘Huh,’ muttered E’Jaaz. ‘Maybe we should go back to rattling a few more of the other temples.’
‘It’s too late for that,’ retorted Marsila. ‘If this is how many are left then this is how many we will deal with.’
‘Well, I don’t think there’s any way we’re just going to waltz in there,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘Not without getting caught.’
‘Waltz?’ said Marsila. ‘Why does everything you suggest have to be dance-related?’
Ignoring the two of them and pushing her growing concerns aside, Charlie studied the building’s layout.
‘Let’s just open a Portal and drop down on the roof,’ said Charlie.
The others stopped muttering to stare at her.
‘I like the idea,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘But it wouldn’t work.’
‘Or if it did,’ continued Marsila, ‘it would be courting disaster. What would happen if the Stowyrms or the Delightful Brothers flying overhead noticed the glimmer of the Portal? They’d be over here in a flash. No, let’s try something else.’
‘How about we go with the old knock ’em out and wear their armour trick?’ said E’Jaaz.
‘They’re Stomen, E’Jaaz. If you wore their armour you’d look like a three-year-old trying on his mother’s clothes. Look, we’re just going to have to –’
‘I liked Charlie’s idea,’ said Nibbler. ‘Going in through the roof would give you more time to look for the keyhole without being detected.’
‘Maybe it would,’ said Marsila, ‘but we still have to deal with the problem of the Stowyrms seeing the light from our Portal.’
‘So let me fly you in.’
There was a thoughtful silence.
‘Do you really think you could lift E’Jaaz and me?’ asked Marsila eventually.
‘I don’t think I’d be able to fly you there, but I think I could glide in with you one at a time. I’ve flown with Charlie before and that was for a good half an hour. You guys are heavier but if I don’t have to carry you for long I don’t think it would be a problem.’
Marsila looked at E’Jaaz but before she could say anything Charlie opened her mouth. ‘What better option are we going to come up with? Let’s do it.’
‘All right,’ said Marsila. ‘We’ll try it your way. Hatchling, how do you want to do this?’
‘If we can head back up the slope of the Winged Mount a bit it’ll give me enough altitude to glide down. And if we angle it right I can drop you guys off without stopping, which is great because less flapping means less noise and less noise means we’re less likely to be caught.’
‘You want us to walk back up the mountain?’ asked E’Jaaz.
‘Just a bit.’
‘Seems like an awful lot of moving around going on here and not much action,’ E’Jaaz grumbled.
‘Well,’ said Nibbler, ‘if you want to head right into the temple, be my guest.’
‘Nooooo, that’s fine,’ said E’Jaaz hastily.
Ducking back down into the gorge, they crossed to the other side, pulled themselves up and started the laborious process of hiking up the incline.
31
Talk of the Future
‘I’m going to start with the heaviest first,’ said Nibbler. ‘So when I get tired at least my load gets lighter.’
‘That would be me, then,’ said E’Jaaz. He licked his lips and looked towards the temple. It seemed a long way down. ‘Are you sure about this, Hatchling? You’re not even halfway grown yet –’
Nibbler cut him short. ‘There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?’
He prodded E’Jaaz (who was clearly having second thoughts) in front of him, spread his wings wide, wrapped his forepaws round E’Jaaz’s chest and dropped forward to disappear into the night.
There was a muffled squawk as E’Jaaz fought the urge to scream like a little girl. Then silence.
‘Has he said anything about me?’ asked Marsila.
The question startled Charlie. She turned to study Marsila’s face but the woman avoided her gaze and instead looked out at the temple.
‘I assume we’re talking about E’Jaaz and not Nibbler?’
Marsila frowned at Charlie and resumed her study of the temple. Finally she sighed and allowed her shoulders to sag. ‘Yes, we’re talking about E’Jaaz.’
‘Ha!’ snorted Charlie, then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth as Marsila gave her another look. Aware that it must have taken a lot for Marsila to even ask such a question, Charlie squashed the urge to tease her and, as ever, settled upon honesty. ‘He
said that you were dangerous … and beautiful. And that he would do almost anything to get that dance you promised him.’
‘Huh. Imagine that. I expected to die in battle weeks ago but luck has been with us.’ Marsila paused to study the stars. ‘Who knows, I might even live to see the return of the Winged Ones. So maybe … maybe I’ll take him up on his offer once we’re back in Sylvaris and once this is over.’ A girlish smile, so new but very much looking like it belonged, appeared briefly only to disappear seconds later like a flash of welcome sunshine obscured by storm clouds. ‘This is to remain between us,’ warned Marsila, ‘at least for now. Dancing is for happier times. Right here, right now, I need my game face on.’
‘Sure,’ said Charlie. She was a little puzzled by Marsila’s abrupt decision to confide in her. She wasn’t sure what this sudden thawing of her tough exterior meant but knowing that she had a softer side made it easier to empathize with her. ‘But I thought you didn’t like E’Jaaz. You’re always so quick to tell him off.’
‘Ha! A man like E’Jaaz needs a good telling off now and again. It keeps his head from growing too large. As for liking him, well, whether I like him or not is irrelevant at a time when there is so much at stake.’
A gust of wind set their clothes rippling. Charlie, troubled by Marsila’s earlier words asked, ‘Did you really think you were going to die?’
‘Of course. With the rise of Bane and the banishment of the Winged Ones I thought all hope was lost. And as the Stoman forces grew stronger I fully expected that my life would be taken in the defence of the realms.’ Marsila looked Charlie right in the eye. ‘As Keepers we live a blessed life but we are bound by our responsibility to the realms. And from time to time some of us are forced into situations that might require us to lay down our lives so that thousands more may live. When we first met upon that bridge in Sylvaris, I thought my time had come and that in order to defend those fleeing the blade of the enemy my life would be forfeit. But you arrived with words of strength and determination, and when you brought your dark army to crush Bane’s First I found that weak flicker of hope rising in my chest once again. Now I no longer dream of death and darkness but find myself imagining a time when I can remove this paint of war and hatred from my face and relax and laugh once more.’
‘I … I don’t know how you can talk so calmly about giving up your life for others. I don’t think I could.’ Charlie swallowed a lump in her throat. ‘As badly as I want to see Bane defeated, I don’t want to die. Each time I’ve fought I’ve been angry and that’s given me the strength to see things through, but when things are calm and quiet the idea of dying, no matter the reason, terrifies me. Does … does that make me a coward?’
Marsila chuckled. ‘No, Charlie, that makes you Human. You’re young and innocent and have long years of life lying ahead of you. Leave thoughts of death and dying to the adults.’
‘Marsila, E’Jaaz told me you lost your sister when you were my age … Did that … I mean, is that why –’
‘Why I’m as hard as I am today?’ said the older woman, finishing Charlie’s words with a bitter smile. ‘In a word, yes. I won’t bore you with the story of how it happened but I will tell you this: mistakes were made that day, mistakes that caused the shattering of my family and the loss of the sister I loved. If I had been more disciplined, if the members of my family and the Keepers around me had been more …’ Marsila closed her eyes as though she was reliving the moments of that distant day. When she opened them they were hard and filled with certainty. ‘Well, there’s no need to point the finger of blame but I learned tough and valuable lessons that day, lessons that I will never, never forget. Just remember, Charlie, that no matter the burden, no matter the cost, we are Keepers and it is vital that we live up to the principle of our names. We must maintain the balance of the realms. We must keep the peace.’
Before they could continue their conversation there came a flutter of wings and Nibbler appeared out of the darkness.
‘Charlie,’ said Marsila, ‘we’ll talk later.’
Charlie nodded, then turned to her winged friend. ‘How’d it go?’
‘All riiiight,’ said Nibbler. ‘My shoulders aren’t dislocated and I’m pretty sure E’Jaaz landed in one piece so I guess you could call it a successful trip. What about you, Marsila, are you ready?’
‘Just don’t drop me.’
‘I’ll take that as a yes, then.’ Taking hold of Marsila, he flashed Charlie a grin. ‘I’ll be back in a moment.’
They disappeared into the gloom. Charlie couldn’t help but notice that, unlike E’Jaaz, Marsila did not squawk. She smiled to herself at that.
32
The Calm Before the Storm
Left alone on the mountainside with her own thoughts, Charlie was pleasantly surprised to find that her doubts had subsided somewhat. Perhaps, after everything she had endured, she was finally getting used to the rollercoaster life of an adventurer. Either that or the discovery that Marsila might actually return E’Jaaz’s guarded feelings was enough of a shock to keep her mind occupied.
Relaxing and savouring the faint scent of cloves on the cool breeze, Charlie tried to recall happier times with her parents. Memories came to her of autumn trips to the countryside and summer evenings spent with her family in London parks. She remembered the sound of her mother’s laugh and the startling turquoise of her father’s eyes, but time had robbed her of many details. No matter how she struggled she couldn’t recollect what motorcycle her father used to ride or what her mother’s favourite piece of music was. When she considered further she realized that many of her childhood memories were faint and hazy, and the more she tried to concentrate the more she found her mind kept getting stuck on the ugly times. Instead of happy details she remembered the first beating Mr Crow had given her; the day he sold all her parents’ clothes and threw out their photo albums, the many times he’d failed to get her grandma the correctly labelled medicine; and, of course, the way furniture started slowly disappearing from all the hundreds upon hundreds of rooms in her house as well as how Mr Crow’s suits and ties kept getting smarter as the house grew drabber. As her grandma had become sicker his lifestyle had grown more lavish.
The sudden flutter of Nibbler’s wings shook her from her pensive thoughts.
‘You all good, Charlie?’
‘Good as I’m going to get,’ she replied, glad to be distracted by his company. ‘How’d the last drop-off go?’
‘Less squawking and a better landing.’
They chuckled at that.
‘So this is it,’ said Charlie. ‘The end at last.’
Nibbler smiled and threw a forepaw over her shoulder. Together they looked down at the temple. ‘Are you ready for it?’
‘Yes. Yes, I am.’
‘Bet you never thought we’d end up here with the pendant.’
‘Nibbler, I never thought any of this would happen to me. Not the Silent Duel with Constantina, not Edge Darkmount or the Patchwork Realm, and I never thought I’d ever witness a city burn.’
‘But we’ve seen a lot, right? I mean, I know there’s been bad things but we’ve travelled a lot, tried delicious foods, seen amazing sights and learned some awesome things.’
Thinking about it, Charlie had to admit that he was right. ‘And made new friends too,’ she added and elbowed Nibbler in the side.
‘Yeah. That too.’
There was another comfortable silence. Charlie was forever grateful for the company of her friend. He was a salve for the turmoil that she kept hidden from sight. The stars twinkled overhead and the torches below continued to give the illusion of a firefly swarm.
Nibbler cleared his throat. ‘I’m your boy, Charlie.’
‘And I’m your girl,’ she calmly replied.
‘You’ve got my back and I’ve got yours.’
‘Friends forever.’
The comfortable moment stretched and time effortlessly trickled by.
After a while Nibbler asked, ‘Think they’re
wondering where we are?’
Charlie chuckled. ‘Probably.’
‘Want to go?’
‘Yes. Let’s end this. Once and for all.’
Nibbler wrapped his forearms round her, spread his wings wide and jumped. The soft sound of the wind whickering past them and the sense of gliding filled them. Charlie drank deep on the moment, the feel of the breeze on her cheek, the fresh scent of night air, the stars overhead and lights below.
Then they were there, flying silently over a troop of Stomen, whizzing past cracked pathways and ancient statues, over the carved walls to land between two of the roof’s domes with a muffled flutter of collapsing wings.
‘Psst!’ hissed E’Jaaz. ‘Over here.’
Hunkering down, they crawled through the shadows, past rising bas-reliefs, and crept along the curve of one of the large domes to where E’Jaaz and Marsila were hiding. They all knelt down in a tight circle and put their heads together so they could talk in whispers.
‘What kept you?’ asked E’Jaaz.
‘Sorry,’ shrugged Nibbler. Not wanting to mention that he and Charlie had been hanging out, he fabricated a white lie. ‘After carrying you two big lumps I had to rest my wings a bit. Have you guys checked out the temple?’
‘We peeked inside the domes,’ said E’Jaaz with a grin of delight. ‘We’ve found the Gateway.’
Nervous but feeling more than a little excited, Charlie asked, ‘Where?’
E’Jaaz pointed behind her. ‘Beneath the big dome. Of course, it comes with problems but we expected that.’
‘They’ve been using it as a temporary barracks,’ explained Marsila. ‘It’s about two-thirds empty at the moment but they’ve rotated in some off-duty squads to catch some shut-eye. The carving with the keyhole is on the far wall from where we stand at the moment. But because life always likes to put two hurdles in the way where one would do, not only are there soldiers asleep right by the keyhole but there’s also a cadre of Stonesingers in there too. Still, we’re not going to mess around; we’ll be using the same tactics as before. In as quick as possible, get over to the carving, raise our shield and hold tight until Charlie gets the Gateway open. And, for Sweet Realm’s Sake, no matter what they throw at us we keep that shield up. Right, let’s go wake those soldiers.’
Blood and Fire (Book 3) Page 14
